Getting started
Anyone who wants to learn a new language can get started fairly quickly. Step 1: Sign up! Create a user account at https://www.duolingo.com and log in. You should be asked what language you want to learn. You can add more later, but for the moment pick one. Then you will be guided through a short tutorial that should familiarize you with the main types of questions asked by Duolingo. The language skill "tree" New users start at the top of their language "tree" on the first skill or opt to try to test to a higher level. If you start at the top, you will be introduced to the language through a series of lessons contained in each skill. Complete each lesson then move on to the next. If you are not comfortable with the material, you can repeat a lesson without penalty. You can also practice within each skill. Once you have completed all the lessons in a skill, pick another unlocked skill and work on that. The goal is to complete the entire tree. Inside Duolingo lessons Each lesson consists of up to 20 exercises. There are a number of different types of exercise, each one aimed at helping users learn in a different way: translation exercises, where you are presented with a sentence in one language and asked to translate it to the other; listening exercises, where you hear a sentence and have to type it in; and speaking exercises, where you are asked to speak a sentence into your computer's microphone. "I don't believe we've met before..." Translation exercises are where Duolingo introduces you to new vocabulary and grammar. Words or grammatical constructs that Duolingo hasn't shown you before are highlighted, and you can hover over any word or phrase with your mouse cursor (even if it's one you've seen before but forgot) to see a list of possible translations. If at first you don't succeed... If you get the answer to an exercise wrong, you will be provided with the correct answer. For each lesson except for the "Basics" lessons, which provide you with four hearts, you begin with three hearts. Every time you get a question wrong, you lose a heart. If you lose all three, you will fail the lesson on the next wrong question. If you fail a lesson you will not get any points for it. You can retry each lesson as many times as you need to in order to pass it. "Remember me?" Learning new things is nice, but remembering what you've learned is even better. Duolingo helps you get your new knowledge into long-term memory using the "Strengthen skills" button, which lets you review previously-learned material that Duolingo thinks it's time for you to practice again. You can also review material from any specific lesson or skill by clicking on the "Strengthen" or "Redo" buttons within a skill. But wait, there's more! In addition to learning a new language for free, you get a few other perks from learning on Duolingo. When you do something cool like complete a lesson without losing any hearts, complete all the lessons in a skill, or practice your language for ten days in a row, Duolingo will reward you with lingots. Lingots are Duolingo's virtual currency that can be spent on various language- and owl-related items in the Lingot Store. You can test your skills and see how you are improving with certificates. Once you have completed about a third of your skills, you will be encouraged to start translating articles in Immersion, which opens up a new world of real-life content with which to practice reading in your new language and continue expanding your vocabulary. And when you complete all the skills in your language "tree" you'll earn a special virtual trophy to recognize your newfound knowledge. The Duolingo Community See: Where to Discuss What on Duolingo 'for a list of the various Discussion forums, what they are used for, and where to find them. The Duolingo community is populated by "Duolingoers" (every member of Duolingo). On the website, the icons of Duolingoers are marked in different ways for reference: Staff (blue rings), volunteer forum Moderators (green rings), Language Moderators (blue rings inside of the Incubator only), and General Users (gold ring only visible to the user themself). The Duolingo community has a strong tradition of user-to-user instruction, by which users share community expectations, encouragement, and learning resources with one another. (This Wiki is a product of that tradition). No matter which category a Duolingoer falls under, anyone can build a strong rapport with the community by being helpful and not taking their frustrations out on one another. With emphasis on a safe and respectful learning environment, there is generally a low tolerance for harassment and bullying. With 10,000 new users joining each day Needed, some users take time to acclimate to a low hostility environment. But other members are there to help them adjust and direct them to the website Guidelines. While there are official Guidelines, the community has developed its own set of expectations as well. An influx of down votes is generally a sign that someone has violated an official Guideline, or has committed a faux pas (gone against an unspoke expectation). If this happens to something you have posted, feel free to ask for guidance and someone will help you. It's not the end of the world. It is easy to recover from such an event because most Duolingoers just want you to succeed. But, here are a few things it's good to know from the start: 'Common Faux Pas and How to Avoid Them: *'Don't create a discussion for casual conversation. '(See Where to Discuss What on Duolingo for more about that.) *Don't use the "It looks wrong" (aka downvote) button in Immersion without first reading theImmersion Community Guidelines. (This is the number 1 most contentious issue on Duolingo.) **If someone misuses the "It looks wrong" button, DON'T post their username for public scrutiny! It violates Duolingo's official Guidelines, which mandate that we maintain a safe and respectful learning environment. Instead, refer to the''' ICG's conflict resolution strategies' Remember, most people who misuse "It looks wrong" are new to Immersion and don't know any better. If you can't resolve the situation respectfully, let it go. ''You are responsible for your actions on Duolingo, no matter what anyone else has done. ''Take a break. Have a glass of water. Get some air. Let it go. *'Don't create a new discussion without first investigating.' Scroll through 2-3 pages in the Popular and New tabs to make sure someone else hasn't recently posted a similar discussion or the same question. Next, use the Discussion Search Bar and try out a couple of keywords. If you don't see what you're looking for after a quick scan, go ahead and create a new discussion. *'Don't create a new copy of something you've already posted.' ''If your post is relevant to another discussion, post your link to the other discussion's comment section. However, don't spam with it as your account may be deleted. *'Don't be disrespectful when you criticise Duolingo.' A respectful tone goes a long way. Several of the more popular discussions that have taken place on Duolingo offered constructive criticism. The key is to aim for a message that seeks to improve the Duolingo platform, rather than unhelpful critique formed with the purpose and/or tone of simple ridicule. *'Don't post to the wrong forum.' See: Where to Discuss What on Duolingo (Link above) *'Don't translate in Immersion without reading the Immersion Community Guidelines' (unofficial) is one of the quickest ways to incite normally peaceful, helpful, friendly Duolingoers to anger. However, calling out specific Duolingoers over this issue is not tolerated because it violates the official Guidelines, which instruct users to maintain a safe and respectful learning environment). Such comments will either be removed, and/or a forum moderator will approach the poster and ask them to alter their post, at times suggest alternative ways to resolve the conflict. *tips Trial and error is a key pillar of learning on Duolingo, whether in the lessons or in the community. If you mess up a few times, it is unlikely that you'll be ostracized. Learn from what happened and improve. The majority of Duolingoers want each other to succeed above all else. Duo on the go In addition to the website, Duolingo is available as an app for iOS and Android devices. You can use the same user login for the mobile apps as you use for the website. Looking for more info? We've got you covered. Duolingo users have collaborated to make this wiki a resource for new and seasoned users alike. If you have any questions this Getting Started Guide hasn't covered, be sure to check our Frequently asked questions section as well as the other guides on this site. If you still can't find your answer, you can always ask a question in the discussion area on the Duolingo website. Just be sure to use the search box there first to see if it's been asked before.